Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1887-12-15
Local Option.

Duncan Lyceum Nov. 10th, 1887;
Mr.. President, Fello,o Umpire,
Ladiesand Gentlemen.
II affords me much pleasure to.
night TO appear before this bright
circle Of intelligence to offer q few
hastily prepared remarks upon the
all important Local Option ques.
tion. 2 The advocates on thu
affirmative side Of this question ar,
very impatient for its enforcement
but like all the windy harp factor.
OF Lincoln county they have failet
to make q constitutional point 70,
its favor. We, of the negative, dt
not expect to charm you Will
strains of eloquence on this vita
question that for the past twelv,
months has agitated the minds o
our best statesmen, orators, poet
and diyines, and the advocates 70
its enforcement may blow their bi,
horns until Old Watch gets as fat a,
a greasy sausage, but they nevei
have and never will reach th,
point by constitutional argument
It is a dangerous law and infringel
upon the rights of the citizen, th.
trainers of the great Magma Charts
for the protection of our inaliena.
BILE rights of life, liberty and thu
pursuits of happiness. We car
show by the Constitution that the
enforcement of Local Option i'm.
pairs the obligations of contracts
In this great republic the highest
aspirations of all good citizens is to
preserve equality in all things just
and equitable. The eloquence ol
Patrick Henry touches lightly upon
this Local Option when he opposed
England in her odious measures OF
taxation without representation;
and the lessons it taught the sons
of liberty found an abiding place in
the mind and heart of the young
patriot and statesman, Thomas
jefferson, and taught him the i'm
portant lesson that, Resistance to
tyrants is obedience to God.'' 1t
inspired him to write declaration
of our rights that gave the liberty
loving sons of the American Revo-
luton patience to endure the hard
ships of camp life and courage to
fight the naughty British. Still
some of the moral gods of morality
would draw diacritical marks upon
the craftsmanship of such charac-
te-s as Webster, Clay, Davis,
George Vest and others, and COM
bine to destroy the liberty and hap
piness of her citizens because Sam
Jones, John Brooks and a few mar
row-contracted Blitzens and Old
Mother Hubbards want Local Op-
ton enforced, when such laws are
more detrimental than the sBlueI
Laws" of Connecticut" Such a
law outrages all feeling of humani-
" and every dictate of common
sense. The enforcement of such a
aw is uncalled for; it makes the
citizen ofa republic only fit SUBJ
ect for despotism. By the en-
orcement of such a law justice
would become the fawning syco-
ohant of power and the qualities of
equity would be badly strained and
mans dictates to man would make
countless millions mourn.
/ thank God / have lived under,
md it is my desire to live and die
lnder that government whose
Institutions must draw their life
blood from the individual purity of
he education and culture of its
citizens and not from the tyranni-
al dictates of Local Option, whose
advocates never breathed a pure
sentiment of liberty, but all that
hey have said or may say will
MY bind closer the CALLING chains
# ignorance, superstition and des-
,otism. Two of the banner coun-
les of our great commonwealth
lave felt the effects of this law and
heir best talent has been heard
,rying aloud against such odious
measures and our best exponent in
he school of jurisprudence has de-
Jared it unconstitutional. Then,
ct us see our duty, a dead sure
hing, and oppose Local Option
here and then, and Christ will
never be hard on man who con-
ends for the liberal rights of men. |
w. L. RAGsDALE.